Systemic and local inflammatory response in women with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes

Objective:To evaluate the inflammatory pattern in maternal circulation, amniotic cavity, cervix and vagina from women with preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM) considering the occurrence of microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity (MIAC). Methodology: A prospective study was performed in 58 women with PPROM before 34+0 weeks of gestational age. Twenty-six proteins were analyzed by a multiple immunoassay in samples of amniotic fluid, serum, cervix and vagina. Association of an inflammatory response in the invasive and non-invasive samples with MIAC was investigated. Results: The rate of MIAC was 36.2% (21/58). Both amniotic fluid IL-6 and cervical C-reactive protein (CRP) showed to be independent predictors of MIAC. A cut-off level of cervical CRP≥1836 pg/mL showed a detection rate of 75%, false positive rate of 19% and positive and negative predictive values to predict MIAC of 67% and 87%, respectively. There were no independent biomarkers of MIAC either in the serum or vaginal compartment. Conclusion: A cervical inflammatory response mediated by CRP was observed in PPROM women with MIAC. Evaluation of serum or vaginal samples did not add valuable information regarding the outcome evaluated

Intra-amniotic inflammatory response in subgroups of women with preterm prelabor rupture of the membranes

Background To evaluate the influence of microbial invasion of the amniotic cavity (MIAC) and histological chorioamnionitis (HCA) on the magnitude of intra-amniotic inflammatory response in preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM). Methodology/Principal Finding A prospective cohort study was performed in 107 women with PPROM between 23.0 and 36.6 weeks of gestational age. Twenty-six proteins were assayed by multiple immunoassay in amniotic fluid. The policy for PPROM in Czech Republic is active, and 90% of the women were delivered within 96 hours of membrane rupture. Histopathological placental findings were evaluated based on the Salafia classification. Data were analyzed in four subgroups of population according to the presence of MIAC and/or HCA. Results were stratified by gestational age at PPROM (< or ≥34.0 weeks). The rates of MIAC and HCA were 44% and 57%, respectively. Regardless of gestational age at PPROM, intra-amniotic inflammatory response was higher when MIAC and HCA were both present. There were no differences in the intra-amniotic inflammatory response between women with MIAC or HCA alone and women without infection. Conclusion A higher intra-amniotic inflammatory response was identified when both HCA and MIAC were detected

Fatigue testing of a proximal femoral hip component

Published versio

Autistic traits,ADHD symptoms,neurological soft signs and regional cerebral blood &#64258;ow in adults with autism spectrum disorders

The resting regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) patterns related to co-occurring symptoms such as inattention, hyperactivity, neurological soft signs and motor problems have not yet been disclosed in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). In this study thirteen adults with ASD and ten matched neurotypical controls underwent PET. The scores of rating scales for autistic traits, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and neurological soft signs were included in a factorial analysis and correlated with rCBF. Factors corresponding to \u27\u27autistic/ADHD traits\u27\u27, \u27\u27sensory-motor integration\u27\u27 and \u27\u27Intelligence/Motor sequencing\u27\u27 were identified. In the ASD group, positive correlations with CBF were found for \u27\u27autistic/ADHD traits\u27\u27 in caudate bilaterally and the inferior parietal lobule, for \u27\u27sensory-motor integration\u27\u27 in parieto-occipital cortex and for \u27\u27Intelligence/Motor sequencing\u27\u27 in the right temporal cortex. Notably, CBF in the left thalamus correlated negatively with all three factors. Autistic traits and ADHD symptoms were associated with shared neural substrates. The correlation between \u27\u27autistic/ADHD traits\u27\u27 and rCBF in the caudate is possibly associated with the executive impairments and ritualistic/stereotyped behaviors apparent in ASD. Furthermore, sensory-motor deficits were correlated with rCBF in the occipital visual cortex, involved in atypical visual perception in ASD. Various behavioral and neurological symptoms are suggested to converge into the ASD phenotype

Antimony-doped graphene nanoplatelets

Heteroatom doping into the graphitic frameworks have been intensively studied for the development of metal-free electrocatalysts. However, the choice of heteroatoms is limited to non-metallic elements and heteroatom-doped graphitic materials do not satisfy commercial demands in terms of cost and stability. Here we realize doping semimetal antimony (Sb) at the edges of graphene nanoplatelets (GnPs) via a simple mechanochemical reaction between pristine graphite and solid Sb. The covalent bonding of the metalloid Sb with the graphitic carbon is visualized using atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The Sb-doped GnPs display zero loss of electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction even after 100,000 cycles. Density functional theory calculations indicate that the multiple oxidation states (Sb3+ and Sb5+) of Sb are responsible for the unusual electrochemical stability. Sb-doped GnPs may provide new insights and practical methods for designing stable carbon-based electrocatalystsclose0

The role of matter density uncertainties in the analysis of future neutrino factory experiments

Matter density uncertainties can affect the measurements of the neutrino oscillation parameters at future neutrino factory experiments, such as the measurements of the mixing parameters $\theta_{13}$ and \deltacp. We compare different matter density uncertainty models and discuss the possibility to include the matter density uncertainties in a complete statistical analysis. Furthermore, we systematically study in which measurements and where in the parameter space matter density uncertainties are most relevant. We illustrate this discussion with examples that show the effects as functions of different magnitudes of the matter density uncertainties. We find that matter density uncertainties are especially relevant for large \stheta \gtrsim 10^{-3}. Within the KamLAND-allowed range, they are most relevant for the precision measurements of \stheta and \deltacp, but less relevant for ``binary'' measurements, such as for the sign of \ldm, the sensitivity to \stheta, or the sensitivity to maximal CP violation. In addition, we demonstrate that knowing the matter density along a specific baseline better than to about 1% precision means that all measurements will become almost independent of the matter density uncertainties.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figures, LaTeX. Final version to be published in Phys. Rev.

Patients with ankylosing spondylitis have increased sick leave—a registry-based case–control study over 7 yrs

Objectives. Using prospectively collected registry data to investigate sick leave (sickness benefit and sickness compensation) over a 7-yr period in patients with AS in comparison with population-based controls matched for age, sex and residential area